2020 Presidential Election
The United States presidential election of 2020, scheduled for Tuesday, November 3, 2020, will be the 59th quadrennial U.S. presidential election. Voters will select presidential electors who in turn will either elect a new President and Vice President through the Electoral College or reelect the incumbents. The series of presidential primary elections and caucuses are likely to be held during the first six months of 2020. This nominating process is also an indirect election, where voters cast ballots selecting a slate of delegates to a political party's nominating convention, who then in turn elect their party's presidential nominee. Incumbent President Calvin Reed of the Republican Party, who was elected in 2016, is eligible to seek reelection. Nominations Republicans Calvin Reed is eligible to run for re-election. The Reed Administration has faced substantial Republican criticism during its first months. Intraparty insurgency against the President originated initially following the unveiling of the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution, with a group of Republican Senators under the leadership of Senator Zachary Fowler standing in opposition, though Fowler would ultimately be the only one of the group to vote against it. Following the announcement of the Dudley Tax, opposition to Reed's policy and governing grew on the right, with Fowler, Matteos Egazarian,and other legislative republicans voicing strong opposition to the measure.The most significant opposition would stem from newly-elected West Virginia Governor Augustus Sinclair, who, blasting both the proposed tax and the President, promised an aggressive resistance. Texas Governor Brandon Kiser also voiced opposition. Two high-profile nominees set forth by the President have been denied confirmation by the Senate, FBI Director nominee Allen Fitch, on the basis of controversial comments relating to acceptance of the chain of command, and Treasury Secretary nominee Emma Bellefontaine-Thibodeaux, on the basis of hearing demeanor, signaling to some pundits that Reed has developed a hostile relationship with the new Congress. Following the pardoning of American fugitive Edmund Rainden, the Administration was hit with a fresh wave of heavy criticism, with Reed's nominee for Health and Human Services, Dr. Amelia Yang, rejecting her nomination and denouncing the action outright. California Republican Greg Morton went so far as to call the President a 'traitor', though this would later be retracted in a public apology. On February 20, 2017, Republican Alabama Senator Alois Kramer announced his intention to challenge the President in the 2020 Republican Primary, stoking speculation that a vast array of discontented Republicans may be planning similar challenges in the future. Declared Major Candidates The candidates in this section have held public office or been included in a minimum of five independent national polls. Potential Candidates The candidates in this section have been subjects of speculation by two or more media outlets and/or or have been vocal Republican critics of President Reed. Alexander Breckenridge, United States Senator from Massachucets since 2013, United States Ambassador to Norway 2009 - 2012, Mayor of Boston 2005 - 2009 Gerald Drumpf, Governor of Georgia since 2015, Candidate for President in 2016. Matteos Egazarian, United States Senator from Rhode Island since 2008, Candidate for President in 2016. Harold Faulkner, Governor of Tennessee since 2015, United States Senator from Tennessee from 2003 - 2015. Zachary Fowler, United States Senator from Vermont since 2017. Augie Sinclair, Governor of West Virginia since 2017. Fredrick Williams, Governor of Mississippi since 2012. Amelia Yang, Representative from Oregon's 5th Congressional District since 2013. Democrats After Robert Danders' historic electoral loss in the previous election with a total of 0 electoral votes, the Democratic Party has been seen largely as leaderless and fractured, with many pundits saying that the party is "on life support" and "becoming weaker every day" with the passage of increasingly Republican agenda items with little to no Democratic resistance being cited as evidence of the party's ineffectual nature.The rise of the American Progressive Party has seen the more liberal members of the coalition desert, leaving primarily older, career democrats in charge such as Senate Minority Whip Stacey Allison and Senate Minority Leader Josephine Stafford. The failed Democratic Unity Convention saw even more members of the party speak out against it, with the likes of Maine Governor Claudia Patton and Florida Governor Esperanza Huerta giving impassioned speeches against the current direction of the party's apparatus, while the likes of Maryland Senator Anthony Conti and Illinois Congressman Jared O'Leary pushing forward in an attempt to put in place a very liberal social agenda. Democrats at the moment have largely avoided talk of 2020, instead opting to try and save the party from a downward spiral. This has not, however, stopped pundits and experts from singling out individuals who could potentially take up the mantle in 2020. Declared Major Candidates There are no declared major candidates at this time. Potential Candidates The candidates in this section have been subjects of speculation by two or more media outlets and/or or have been vocal Democratic critics of President Reed. Anthony Conti, United States Senator from Maryland since 2015, Candidate for President in 2016. Antonio De Nieto, House Minority Leader since 2017, U.S Representative from California since 2011, Mayor of San Francisco from 2003 - 2011. Alicia Florrick, United States Attorney General since 2017, United States Senator from New York from 2013 - 2017. Esperanza Huerta, Governor of Florida since 2015. Donald Johnson, U.S. Representative from California since 2007, Candidate for United States Senate in 2016. Chelsea Medina, United States Senator from Georgia since 2015, Governor of Georgia from 2007 - 2011, Mayor of Atlanta from 2002 - 2007. Jared O'Leary, U.S. Representative from Illinois since 2015. Claudia Patton, Governor of Maine since 2015, U.S. Representative from Maine from 2003 - 2013, United States Ambassador to France from 1997 - 2001, United States Ambassador to The Netherlands 1993 - 1997. Tony Schlang, Candidate for Governor of New Jersey in 2017, Secretary of the Interior from 2009 - 2016, Candidate for President of the United States in 2008, U.S. Representative from New Jersey from 2005 - 2007, Mayor of Jersey City from 2003 - 2005. Norris Vilseck, Chair of the DNC since 2017, Governor of Pennsylvania from 2011 - 2017, U.S. Representative from Pennsylvania from 2005 - 2011. Progressives The rise of the American Progressive Party has been one of the most stunning political developments of the 21st Century. Seattle Mayor Ellen Walton and Colorado Governor Bill Denver took second place in the 2016 Presidential Election, garnering 33 Electoral votes and carrying the states of Washington, Oregon, Massachusetts, and The Nation's Capital, Washington D.C. This stunning display of political triumph has set the party on course to make another go at the Presidency, and while the current bench of prospective candidates is limited to a select few, it is ever growing, especially with the election of 2 new Senators in 2016. More likely than not though, the future of the party rests in the hands of its Matriarch, and all those without a reason to doubt her health or competence have pegged her as the logical pick for 2020. Declared Major Candidates There are no declared major Candidates at this time. Potential Candidates Reginaldo Alphonsey, United States Senator from California since 2017. Jacob Bellinger-Frank, Governor of Washington since 2017, Deputy Mayor of Seattle from 2014 - 2017. Bill Denver, Vice Presidential Candidate in 2016, Governor of Colorado since 2011. Thomas J. Fairley, Governor of Oregon since 2015, U.S. Representative from Oregon from 2009 - 2015. John Kingston, United States Senator from Maine since 2015, U.S. Representative from Maine from 2013 - 2015. Ellen Walton, Progressive Party nominee in 2016, Mayor of Seattle since 2014, Mayor of Portland from 2005 - 2013.